Ditching-machine



(No Modei.) A. G. CARTER.

DITGHING MAGHINE.

No. 531,097. Patented Dec; 18, 1894.

' ATTORNEYS U rTEp STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED O. CARTER, OF GREENFIELD, IOWA.

DlTCHlNG-MACHINEL SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO.531,097, dated December 18,1894.

Application filed December 9, 1893. Serial No. 493,240. (No model.)

To allwhom it may concern.-

Greenfield, in the county of Adair and State of Iowa, have invented anew and Improved Ditching-Machine, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description. I

My invention relates to improvements in that class of machines which areused for digging narrow trenches in which tile may be laid; and theobject of my invention is to produce a simple and efficient machinewhich To these ends, my invention consists of cer-.

tain features of construction and combina tionsof parts, which will behereinafter described and claimed.

Reference isto be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure lfis a broken plan view, with parts in section, of the diggingmachine embodying my invention.

position to dig a ditch or trench. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view ofthe plow, showing in detail the means for guiding the plow pointlaterally. Fig. 4=is a detail side elevation of the landside attachmentused in steering the machine and counteracting the'side pressure on themold-board, and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the plow point,the shift bar and the link connecting the point and bar.

d Fig. 2 is a sectional side ele' vation of the same, showlng themachine in uniform depth.

hung on the .pin15, which is arranged at the Be it known that I, ALFREDO. CARTER, of

oted, at its. elbow, on the under side of the plow 12, and is connectedby a rod 19 with a crank shaft20 extending upward through the plow beam,as shown best in Fig. 3. It will thus be seen that by turning the crank20, the bell crank may be tilted and the shift bar 16 moved laterally soas to change the angle of the plow point, and in this way the machinemay be made to describe a curve.

Fitted'to slide in a guide-way 16 on the under side of the shift bar 16is a slide 22, to whichis pivoted a link 23, this being pivoted also tothe plow point 14; and a rod 24 is pivoted to the link 23 and extendsupward and backward,being at its upper end pivoted to the lower end of alever 25, which is fulcrumed on the beam 10, and extends downwardthrough a slot therein, the lever moving opposite a common quadrant 26,which is mounted on the beam 10, andto which the lever may be made fastby means of the usual hand latch and'bolt carried by the lever.

It will be observed that by swinging the lever, the rod 24 and link 23may be actuated,

so that the point 1 1 may be given any desired pitch and mayconsequently be regulated so as to run the plow deeply into the earth,to run it out of the earth, or to maintain it at a I Hingedto the outerportion-of the plow beam, as shown'at 27, is a lift bar 28, whichextends forward, being bent inward so as to align at its front end withthe lower end of the plow, and the front end of the lift bar is '11, andthe racks areconnected with curved members or guides32, which lieparallel with the racks and which, by engaging the projecting ends ofthe shaft 29, guide and brace the same.

Connected with the shaft 29, by means of a worm gear 33, see Fig. 1, isa shaft 34, which at its free end is hung in an eye 35 ona post 36 whichprojects upward from the lift bar 28, and the shaft 34 extends to apoint where it may be conveniently reached from the rear end of themachine and terminates in a hand wheel 37, by which it may be revolved;and it will be observed that the revolution of the shaft 34 drives thecross shaft 29 which, acting on the racks 31, causes the lift bar 28 tobe raised orlowered, thus raising or lowering the plow point, as willappear from the description to follow.

Pivoted on the pin 15 on the plow point are parallel knives 38, whichextend upward and are connected together by cross ribs 39 which preventthem from spreading or from buckling inward. The knives have, at theirupper ends, a pin 40, which rests on the top of the lift bar 28, so thatwhen the a lift bar is raised the knives will be also raised and theplow lifted; and the knives also lie in the slots in the end of theliftbar 28. The knives 38 are just far enough apart to out the sidewalls of the ditch and to make the ditch of the desired width, and itwill be understood that different riggings may be used having knivesdissimilarly spaced, so that a ditch of any width, within reasonablelimits, may thus be cut out.

The plow serves to cut the ditch horizontally and to raise loosenedearth, and to this end it has at its upper end a mold-board 41 whichdelivers upon a mold-board 42, carried by the beam 10, and the earth isthus thrown to one side of the ditch into which it may be easily turnedwhen the ditch is to be filled.

Mounted vertically on the rear end of the main beam is a crank shaft 42carrying at its lower end, a landside plate 42, which is adapted topress against the side ofthe ditch and counteract the side pressure onthe mold-board, and having, at its upper end, a crank handle 42, towhich is attached a chain 42, which is adapted to engage a hook 42 onthe main beam, to hold the crank and landside plate in position.

The main beam 10 has connected to its front end a forwardly-extendingdraft beam 44, which rests against the end of the beam 10, and which hasside braces 45 hinged at their ends, as shown at 43, to the main beam 10and connected to the draft beam by means of a clevis 46, a rod 47passing through the lower end of the clevis and beneath the beam 44, anda box 48, which serves as a bearing for the clevis.

The draft beam 44, has at its front ends, a clevis 49, of the usualkind, with which connection is made to draw the machine, and at the rearend of the main beam 10 and the front end of the draft beam 44 arerollers 50, which straddle the ditch and run on the ground, the frontrollers 50 being connected by a yoke 51 beneath which, and between theyoke and the beam 44, is a wedge 52, by which the height of the rollersmay be regulated.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the draft beam hasthe necessary freedom of movement in relation to the main beam 10, that,by means of the mechanism described, the pitch and angle of the plowpoint may be easily adjusted, that the knives 38 are adapted to outcleanly the walls of the ditch, that means is provided for throwing outthe loosened earth, and consequently that the machine may be drawn likean ordinary plow, and a ditch of the desired dimensions rapidly made.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In a ditching machine, the combination with a beam,of a hinged plow, means for raising and lowering the plow, a pointpivoted to a laterally movable support, and means for swinging the pointon its pivot, substantially as described.

2. In a ditching machine, the combination with a beam, of a hinged plow,a point pivoted to a laterally movable support, means for swinging thepoint on its pivot, knives secured to the pivot of the point andprojecting abovethe beam, and means for raising and lowering the plowand knives, substantially as described.

3. In a ditching machine, the combination with a beam, and a plowcarried thereby, of a shift bar pivoted to the under side of the plow toswing horizontally, a point pivoted to the shift bar to swingvertically, and means for operating the shift bar on its pivot,substantially as described.

4. In a ditching machine, the combination with a beam, and a plowcarried thereby, of a shift bar pivoted on the plow, a point pivoted onthe shift bar, means for operating the shift bar, a link pivoted to thepoint and having a pivotal and sliding connection with the shift bar, alever, and a rod connected to the lever and link, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a ditching machine, the combination with a shift bar provided witha guide-way on its under side, of a point pivoted to the shift bar, aslide fitting in the guide-way of the said shift bar, a link pivoted tothe slide and point, an operating lever, and a rod connected to thelever and link, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a ditching machine, the combination with a beam, and a plow hingedthereto, of a pivoted lift bar, knives carried by the plow point andconnected at their upper ends with the lift bar, and means for operatingthe said lift bar, substantially as described.

7. In a ditching machine, the combination with a beam, and a plowcarried by the beam, of a crank shaft mounted on the rear end of thebeam, a landside plate on the lower end of the crank shaft, a crankhandle on the upper end of said shaft, and means for looking the crankin position, substantially as described.

8. A ditching machine, comprising a main beam, a plow hinged thereto, ashift bar fulthe slot and extending downward from the beam, a verticallyand laterally moving plow point carried by the plow, a lift bar hingedabove the plow, a gear mechanism for adj ust ing the lift barvertically, and the parallel knives extending from the lift bar to theplow point, substantially as described.

10. The combination, with the beam, the

swinging plow, the plow point, the swinging lift bar above the plowpoint, and the knives 20 connected with the plow point and the lift 7bar, of the rack on the main beam, the shaft on the lift bar geared tothe rack, and the screw shaft for turning the shaft on the lift bar,substantially as described.

11. The combination, with the main beam and its ditching mechanism, ofthe draft beam abutting with the front end of the main beam, braceshinged to the front end of the main beam, and a clevis connectionbetween 0 the braces and the draft beam, substantially as described.

ALFRED C. CARTER.

' Witnesses:

THOMAS H. MINERT, DANIEL A. SHAW.

